And Then...Silence

Posted on Tue Jul 11th, 2023 @ 9:21pm by Colonel Vaebn

Mission: 00-Yut Makh aka The Closing
Location: Cube 221
Timeline: May 2381

The interior of the cube was like any other. Humid, dark, illuminated by an ominous green glow. Drone moves slowly across metal catwalks and through corridors going about their work as 'ordered' by the Queen.

Three of Twelve stood in at a rather large station, their function was to identify candidates for assimilation and plan the assimilation efforts.

Cube 221 had entered Romulan space hours earlier and noted a significantly low amount of starship traffic, until the cube detected two Romulan scout ships. Initial scan determined that one was carrying precisely 26 passengers, the other had only one and was transporting some wreckage that was deemed insignificant.

Cube 221 was ordered to intercept the scout ships and to assimilate all 26 passengers. Three of Twelve began to issue orders to drones, whose functions were integral to assimilation. The cube locked a tractor beam onto the ship and directed it towards the bay doors. There was little resistance from the Romulan ship, and no attempts from the other ship to try and free their companion.

With the ship securely in the bay compartment of the cube, Three of Twelve dispatched a team drones to begin the assimilation process. Three of Twelve followed behind to oversee the procedure. Upon arriving at the captured vessel the extraction team had already subdued the Romulans, with only one casualty among the 26 passengers. Far within the acceptable limits of the Collective.

Now, Three of Twelve and the assimilation team moved in. A mixture of fear and defiance painted the faces of the 25 remaining Romulans. Their emotion was registered and logged by the drones in a fraction of a second, but this did not deter them from carrying out what was ordered of them.

Injecting each of the Romulans with nanoprobes was short work for the assimilation drones. Still, it would be a few minutes before these new drones would be fully assimilated, and then escorted to the assimilation chamber where they would be given initial assignments, designations, and upgrades to their physical form.

Three of Twelve stood back and observed as the first few of the new drones became connected to the hive mind, added to the unity of the Collective. Perfect order took them over as they became drones.

Suddenly a haze came over Three of Twelve, as well as every other drone on the cube. A shriek filled the bay, emanating from one of the Romulans just assimilated. A nearby conduit blew up, raining sparks on those below. Many more followed, showering the area in light before plunging it into darkness.

Three of Twelve found comfort in the voices of the hive, filling his mind in the darkness. But slowly the voices began to recede, sounding further and further away. It was unsettling for Three of Twelve. All at once the voices were gone and the only sound left was the shriek that continued in the darkness. And then...silence.